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Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

arstechnica.com

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Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#41

Post by grandalf »

nailer wrote: post #39
grandalf wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are right that OSX uses different subpixel rendering than Windows, but I think that at present the free fonts on Ubuntu are not quite at the level of OSX's fonts and some of Adobe's. This could just be my own aesthetic taste, but I think it could also be due to those companies having highly paid font designers working on those details.

Agfa (who do the Ubuntu / Fedora fonts) developers are paid just like anyone else.

Hmm... Well I admit some of the free fonts are awesome... but I have not found them to be quite as pleasing... Maybe it's just my own taste... not worth arguing about since Ubuntu is awesome and the free fonts are certainly good enough for most purposes...

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#42

Post by randallsquared »

rbanffy wrote: post #35
dasil003 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think ambition is something you have to earn, more power to him. However considering the cat-herding involved in creating great user experiences from the top down, and considering how much Apple pays its engineers and designers, if he pulls this off he's 100 times the leader Steve Jobs is.

What they have earned is the right to brag. Apple has a Unix that's very polished and usable, but is not that much Unix-ish if what you need is a traditional X desktop. And OSX lacks package management.

Package management is really useful for servers, or other systems where there's a bunch of dependencies. Desktop apps hardly need it, and OSX apps in particular don't need it. The combination of the drag-to-applications-folder installing and checking for new updates to the app when you launch it solves the vast majority of this problem for the vast majority of users.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#43

Post by jsz0 »

nearestneighbor wrote: post #15

Am I the only one who thinks that at the GUI level Ubuntu is better than OS X? (I use Snow Leopard and Ubuntu 8.04 extensively)

GNOME itself has evolved nicely but the wheels fall off the Ubuntu UI when you start installing applications. If you're careful and only install GTK apps it's bearable but once you mix in QT apps and other non-GTK stuff you have a horrible mix of UIs that lack consistency.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#44

Post by randallsquared »

rbanffy wrote: post #37
barrkel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ubuntu's default control layout looks ridiculous to me - everything is too far apart, the margins are too big, the buttons are too big, the fonts are too big, acres of space are wasted by toolbars in the File Browser in the screenshot, etc. It looks like a toy for people with poor eyesight.

Or big screens. Unix machines have traditionally been used with big monitors. It's not surprising at all Gnome uses lots of pixels. And there is nothing forcing you to use Ubuntu's default layout. You have literally hundreds of options to choose from. I tend to change look and feel more or less on a monthly basis.

The more you change it, though, the less likely you are ever to get it back to a previous set of settings. :( Switch to KDE and back to Gnome in Ubuntu 9.10, and you'll find yourself, bizarrely, with a KDEesque mouse theme, even after you uninstall all the kubuntu-desktop stuff (which should not be necessary, I would expect).

I use Ubuntu because I have the free time to screw around with my home computer, but I wouldn't recommend it for people who don't have the time and knowledge to do that, unless all they ever want to do is use what it comes with out of the box.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#45

Post by pyre »

randallsquared wrote: post #44
rbanffy wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or big screens. Unix machines have traditionally been used with big monitors. It's not surprising at all Gnome uses lots of pixels. And there is nothing forcing you to use Ubuntu's default layout. You have literally hundreds of options to choose from. I tend to change look and feel more or less on a monthly basis.

The more you change it, though, the less likely you are ever to get it back to a previous set of settings. :( Switch to KDE and back to Gnome in Ubuntu 9.10, and you'll find yourself, bizarrely, with a KDEesque mouse theme, even after you uninstall all the kubuntu-desktop stuff (which should not be necessary, I would expect). I use Ubuntu because I have the free time to screw around with my home computer, but I would…

> unless all they ever want to do is use what it comes with out of the box.

Most people don't. At the very least, most (non-geek) people don't switch desktop environments often. The people that are 'too busy' will just settle on a desktop environment and stick with it.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#46

Post by rsheridan6 »

jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #13

Why are there no OEMs making strictly ubuntu machines? There's System76, but they're too complicated (20 different choices). Go look at hardware partners and there are no north american system builders! That's what Ubuntu is missing. Guys like us will install it, but if they want to be adopted by normal people it has to come with the system. You'll never get a strong commitment from big guys like DELL. They're too wo…

Dell did make a serious Ubuntu effort in 2007. They had a fair selection of Ubuntu machines, but they didn't make any money. Other OEMs dropped their plans to sell Ubuntu, and all you can get with Ubuntu from Dell now is a few netbooks.

I bought one when they were brand new (in fact, I'm using it right now). It was not ready for prime time - there were suspend/hibernate problems, among other issues. I could not have recommended it.

That with Dapper Drake. Karmic works a lot better, but it's so bloated that I can barely use it. I had to get rid of GNOME and run fluxbox, and I don't use Firefox anymore because it takes fully half of my RAM (not that that's Ubuntu's fault). But I think regular Ubuntu would be ready for prime time on a faster machine. The only thing really holding it back now is inertia and software compatibility.

But I expect that it will be awhile before OEMs want to try again. Canonical shouldn't have pushed it to OEMs before it was ready.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#47

Post by rsheridan6 »

axod wrote: post #27
jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #13

Why are there no OEMs making strictly ubuntu machines? There's System76, but they're too complicated (20 different choices). Go look at hardware partners and there are no north american system builders! That's what Ubuntu is missing. Guys like us will install it, but if they want to be adopted by normal people it has to come with the system. You'll never get a strong commitment from big guys like DELL. They're too wo…

I agree @ Ubuntu Netbook Remix. The other thing I just don't understand is why are netbook manufacturers still putting crappy nonstandard little known restrictive linux distros on their netbook? I bought an Acer Aspire One, which came with linpus I think, which was ridiculous. Installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and now it's fantastic.

Hmm, maybe linpus (never heard of it, but what a horrible name, makes me think of a wound with purulent discharge) offers a better crapware kickback or something like that.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#48

Post by rsheridan6 »

rbanffy wrote: post #34
bugs wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly you get a discount from windows on most machines... same specs but the windows equivalent is usually cheaper.

The OEM license is paid in full by the adware/crapware that comes installed over it. One more reason to uninstall Windows (besides Windows)

I don't see why they can't install crapware on Linux, cut out MS, and cut prices for customers while keeping a bigger cut for themselves.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#49

Post by arohner »

randallsquared wrote: post #42
rbanffy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What they have earned is the right to brag. Apple has a Unix that's very polished and usable, but is not that much Unix-ish if what you need is a traditional X desktop. And OSX lacks package management.

Package management is really useful for servers, or other systems where there's a bunch of dependencies. Desktop apps hardly need it, and OSX apps in particular don't need it. The combination of the drag-to-applications-folder installing and checking for new updates to the app when you launch it solves the vast majority of this problem for the vast majority of users.

You're absolutely right, but as a developer, package management makes a significantly more pleasant experience.

I also really hate how every OSX app has it's own way of doing updates. Even if the OSX makes desktop apps not need dependencies, it would be really nice if I only had one 'update' button to push. As it is, 5 different things want to update practically every day.

Re: Ubuntu introduces new theme and branding

#50

Post by kylemathews »

jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #13

Why are there no OEMs making strictly ubuntu machines? There's System76, but they're too complicated (20 different choices). Go look at hardware partners and there are no north american system builders! That's what Ubuntu is missing. Guys like us will install it, but if they want to be adopted by normal people it has to come with the system. You'll never get a strong commitment from big guys like DELL. They're too wo…

I just installed UNR for my mom last night -- she loves it. She said it was "beautiful" and very easy to use.
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